Hair loss could mean heart disease

(WZZM) - Losing your hair can make a man worry about how much longer before he goes completely bald. But there's a reason why if you're thinning on top, you shouldn't be worrying about your head; Instead you should be worrying about your heart.

Six studies on male pattern baldness involving 40,000 men show there is a link between hair loss and chronic heart disease.

It doesn't matter if you are younger or older when you start losing your hair, but it does matter where you're losing it.

The studies say the link is only with men who lose their hair in the back of the head, not those with a receding hair line, and it matters how much you've lost.

Men who had extensive baldness were 48% more likely to have chronic heart disease, those with moderate baldness were 36% more likely, and men who had mild baldness were 18%.

But the big question is why? That's still up for debate.

Some say balding men also had classic coronary risk symptoms like smoking, age, and hypertension. Others say that balding is a sign of chronic inflammation, which is an indicator of heart disease.

You can read more about the correlation between male pattern baldness and heart disease here.